Classes
This page contains all the classes selectable by players. Keep in mind that the name of the class given is more like a suggestion, and used only for official reference. You may call your class whatever you wish. You may also create a class, or swap certain features of one class for certain features of another, but this is the kind of thing you have to work out with your DM, if he/she is willing to allow that kind of thing. Also remember that you can multiclass in any of the other classes a long as you meet the prerequisites for that class. Basic Classes - Baseline classes nearly anyone can pick up, from level 1 fresh characters to level 100 Dragon Warriors. Prestige Classes - Advanced classes, usually better than basic classes, that have prerequisites in order to take. Normally for level 20+. Custom Classes - Player-created classes, either from scratch or a mix of existing classes, both in the form of basic and prestige classes. Back to Index Basic Classes Classes that have little or no prerequisites, no more than any brand new level 1 character can't manage. Though they all have their own specialties, quirks, and unique bonuses, they are designed around the four basic roles in a party, which are Combat, Skills, Magic, and Healing. Combat-oriented classes usually take to the front lines in melee, having high base attack bonuses and durability. Skill classes focus on their skills, obviously, and have a large variety of bonuses to and from them. Magic users are usually squishy damage-dealers, but often have some element of utility as well. Healers both heal wounds and try to make sure wounds don't happen in the first place. They also normally have buffing spells. It is important to note that, while Healers are also technically magic users, the focus on different types/schools of magic makes them take quite a different role in a classic party. Adventurer Role - All/Any A jack of all trades class, adventurers know a little bit of everything. They use magic, fight decently, can pick a lock in a pinch, and even heal themselves up if necessary. However, equal training time (levels) considered, wizards throw better fireballs, fighters win more duels, rogues crack bigger, better safes, and clerics heal more lifethreatening injuries. But even considering that, if one of those isn't readily available, adventurers can fill the role pretty well. In fact, most people that tend to keep to themselves or in small groups end up being adventurers because they must be self-sufficient generalists if they plan to live long. Arcane Archer Role - Magic/Skills A mystical class that uses special catalysts to fire arrows made entirely of magical energy, often delivering special effects in a wide variety of ways. They can also use a normal bow to great effect, as they are archers after all, as well as cast spells normally the way a mage would. Artificer Role - Skills A scientific sort of class that focuses on the crafting of mechanical wonders, making all kinds of neat gadgets and equipment such as the wrist-mounted auto-crossbow, or the Light Amplified to Solid Emission Rig, or Laser for short. They're usually not much good in actual combat, but if their gadgets are good enough, they don't have to be. Barbarian Role - Combat Barbarians are exactly what's on the label: Barbarians. They fight with wild abandon and rage, as opposed to the fighter's disciplined and trained style. They tend to use big melee weapons, preferring to be up close and personal with their kill, but ranged weapons aren't completely out of the question, especially if it's oversized, rough, and brutal-looking. Bard Role - Magic/Skills Bards are stealthy magic users, able to cast some magic while still being able to stay hidden. Most are illusionists, but that's just what fits the class best. In fact, bards' specialty is their unique Bardic Music. Battlemage Role - Combat/Magic Battlemages take a combat-driven approach to magic, as opposed to a wizard or mage's usual idea that they should learn magic for magic's sake. They just want to be able to fry their opponents with fireballs, preferably right to their face, right before lopping off their now blackened head. That's not to say battlemages aren't smart, quite the opposite, in fact, but their place is on the battlefield, and being able to use magic in addition to martial training gives an advantage most others don't have. Citizen Role - None Citizens are just trying to live their lives, day by day. The massing of power is best left to important people. This class is mostly for NPCs, though a player may take it if they want a challenge. Cleric Role - Healing Clerics are the healers and the protectors, masters of wards and curing. Usually dedicated to a deity, but the biggest factor is the type of magic they use. They wear heavy armor, and can also hit pretty hard when they have to, making them a good choice for a second front-line tank if everyone else is too squishy. Death Knight Role - Combat/Arcane The moral opposite to the paladin, death knights are those that serve the cause of evil, caring only for themselves and seeking ever more power, glory, and riches. They are mostly combat focused, but have an array of magic designed to gain the upper hand in battle, focused mostly on things like necromancy and enchantment. Duelist Role - Combat/Skills A type of warrior that uses his head and superior agility and mobility, rather than raw strength. Often lauded for their combat abilities in tournaments; small, one on one fights that follow certain sets of rules, and they may very well be the best at such combat, but put them on a warring battlefield and most duelists may be prone to losing their head, literally and figuratively. Druid Role - Healing Druids are the clerics of the wild, though they leave off on the heavy armor and weapons in favor of an animal companion to do the fighting for them, as they aren't exactly a tough-guy class. Enchanter Role - Magic/Skills Arcane casters that focus on the creation of magical items, only learning what magic they need to make their latest innovation or to survive. As in their title, enchanters usually focus on the school of enchantment, providing buffs for allies rather than participating in combat directly. Expert Role - Skills Experts are the supreme skill class, able to specialize on a few skills very heavily, or have lots of really good skills that are still better than average. The only thing bringing down this class is the lack of any real combat ability, making Rogue the more popular choice for a skill class. Fighter Role - Combat Fighters are the best when it comes to fighting, hands down. They are enormously flexible, able to specialize in a variety of weapons both ranged and melee, and wear armor of all kinds, though the lack of any skills or magic turn many away from this class. Guardian Role - Healer Guardians focus on defenses (both their own and their allies') to assist their allies in the form of protection and shielding, rather than healing. They perform the role of tank thanks to their protective Auras, and have a many tools to make sure they are attacked rather than their allies, and though they can take some heavy punishment, they will decidedly not be able to deal any back out, relying on their team to do all the damage. Hexer Role - Divine/Skills Profane divine casters who focus on weakening the enemy in a variety of ways, from causing miss chance/attack bonus reduction, to status effects, to even level loss. Hexers make sure that no enemy is really all-powerful. Inquisitor Role - Combat/Divine The soldiers of a church, should they have need of a militia (and their belief allows for such a thing), Inquisitors are akin to paladins except that instead of answering a call to rightousness, the heed the whims of their deity. They are well trained in the use of most weapons and armor, and have access to a small pool of protective and healing magic (thanks to their deity). High level inquisitors are often sent out like detectives in matters of faith, to seek out corruption and cure it. However, inquisitors of non-good faiths can also be torturers, and the same sort of inquisitors used to seek corruption are also used to silence dissenters. Mage Role - Magic/Healing Mages are general spellcasters, and aim to learn all (or at least most) of the magic from all the schools. They have the best overall utility due to the high number of spells per day and known spells they get, but are still squishy and aren't quite as effective as a Wizard in magical offense. Monk Role - Combat Monks are warriors who specialize in hand-to-hand combat, perfecting the weapon that is the warrior's own body through discipline and strength of mind, and are widely known for their use of ki (also sometimes known as chi), a sort of spiritual energy that usually comes from meditation and enlightenment. Mystic Role - Magic/Divine Casters that balance between arcane and divine, both blurring and defining the line between the two. Like the comparable mage class, the mystic can cast spells from both arcane and divine spell lists, but rather than as an arcane caster, like the mage, seeing it from a divine caster's view. Necromancer Role - Magic/Divine Mages that seek to raise the dead, and defeat Death itself, using vile magic to animate corpses and trap souls. Many necromancers have the goal of achieving immortality of any sort, and become liches as a result, though not all desire eternal life, and instead desire power, though there is little distinction between the root of these two outcomes to a high level necromancer. Paladin Role - Combat/Healing Paladins are defenders, protectors, and destroyers of evil, chosen at birth by higher powers to deliver justice in a world with darkness at every corner. Strong warriors with a small array of healing abilities and spells, great for being a self-sufficient front-line defender. Pilgrim Role - Healing/Skills Wandering healers, pilgrims are those divine casters that have come to the conclusion that the best way to spread their deity's word (or to help the common folk) is to go on a pilgrimage, wander and explore the lands, defeat trials, see what past saints of their church have seen, and say it's all due to the grace of their god. Priest Role - Healing/Skills Priests eschew the tanky combat feel of clerical healers and instead focus on their skills. Priests are usually high ranking members of clergy, and are diplomats as a result (or perhaps the other way around). Ranger Role - Combat/Skills Much like druids are considered clerics of the wild, rangers are considered to be the fighters of the wilderness areas, though they are probably more like a combination of fighter and rogue. Regardless, rangers are quite good at both ranged and dual weapon combat. Not only that, but they have several useful skills and recieve an animal companion, just like the druid, though the bonuses to both ranger and companion are far less. Rogue Role - Skills Rogues are famous for their ability to get into places and things they're not supposed to, but they have quite a few other skills as well. What sets this class apart from other skill based classes is the rogues ability to be at least somewhat useful in combat, often remembered for sneak attacks. They are lightly armored so as to make maximum use of their mobility, and use small weapons like daggers and rapiers or ranged weapons like bows and crossbows. Sorcerer Role - Magic Sorcerer is a bit unique when it comes to casting spells because while everyone else has to study, learn, think, then cast, sorcerers have an innate power inside that they just call upon. As such, sorcerers don't have to prepare spells each day, casting more like a divine spellcaster, but also can't cast quite as many. Spellsword Role - Magic/Combat Arcane mages that channel their spells through their weapon, delivering the effects on hit rather than casting the spell normally. Not quite as good at spellcasting as the comparable battlemage class, but just as good at combat and can weave their spells into their attacks without having to choose one or the other. Tamer Role - Combat/Skills Tamers raise and train animals, magical beasts, and even some monsters to fight for them, granting many bonuses to animals they have spent a lot of time with. Templar Role - Combat/Divine Also often called Mage Mashers, templars are those who specialize in hunting mages, using techniques created by a religious order from a long lost time when magic and its users were considered a dangerous, overwhelming force and needed to be kept in check by any means necessary. Nowadays, while not neccessary to fight mages, a templar is certainly welcome in a group that expects to come across many such enemies, both arcane and divine. Warlock Role - Magic Warlocks gain magic powers through dark magic and pacts with evil beings such as demons or eldritch horrors. This does not neccesarily mean they are evil themselves, as they may only be borrowing the power in great need, or perhaps are planning to put one over on their patron and usurp them. However, that said, such dark powers inevitably corrupt, and those that reach high levels in this class are forced into an evil alignment unless something is done in game. Wizard Role - Magic Wizards are the specialists of magical study, taking a narrow field (usually a single school of magic) compared to the general utility of mages. They make up for this, however, with their ability to shape magic (they get bonus magical feats much like a fighter gets bonus regular feats). Prestige Classes Prestige Classes are classes that often offer greater bonuses and stats than base classes, but require you to meet certain prerequisites before taking them, usually at level 20 or so if you build your character with a prestige class in mind, though you can start earlier if you find a trainer. Keep in mind that you need at least 20 levels in any given class to be able to train someone in that class. Arc-mancer Classes From pyromancers to auramancers, the label arc-mancer is a catch-all category for a specialist mage that takes your specialization and adds the -mancer suffix. A list of the most common types of arc-mancers is found here, which then lead to that specific class. Archdruid Druids that have mastered the basic magic inherent in nature and seek to further that study, becoming supreme divine casters of the natural world. Archmage Archmages are simply more powerful versions of regular mages, but don't let their simplicity fool you. While a cube is simple, it holds more strength than a twisted, wandering design. Assassin Masters of silent killing and single strike deaths, assassins are the best at taking enemies out one by one without so much as a scratch. Channeler An ancient, secret magic technique similar to arcane magic, but is, in fact, neither arcane nor divine. Channeling draws its power from the elusive "Source", and is an ability only found in an extraordinarily small portion of sentient races, and those that can only discover so in extremely rare circumstances or by being tested by one who already has discovered their own ability to channel. Courtesan Those that deal with noble courts, expanding on the bard's foundation to become spies and assassins, capable of guiding entire countries to their desired result. Dragon Hunter One who has devoted their entire life to slaying dragons, a dragon hunter is optimally suited to fight dragons, trained to be resistant to a dragon's strengths and to exploit their weaknesses. They most often use bows or dual weapons and light armor in pursuit of their quarry, much like a ranger, though dragon hunters who favor heavier arms and armor aren't a rarity. Dragon Rider A dragon rider is a non-dragon sentient being who has bonded with a dragon in such a way that they are connected at the very core of their beings. As a result of this bond, the non-dragon partner becomes subject to the natural magic present in dragons and gains a whole host of abilities. This bond also affects the dragon much in the same way, but it is unclear as to why this is. Dragon Warrior A dragon warrior is one who has dedicated their life to complete mastery of combat in all its forms, from magical, to ranged, to melee, to even political, and skill. They aim to be the best at everything there is, but because of this, training is very difficult, very slow, and very tedious. Few who actually meet the prerequisites to become dragon warriors go past a few levels. Elementalist The elementalist embodies the very soul of the elements, using them exclusively to produce a variety of effects otherwise impossible to achieve if one were a regular mage. Because of this, elementalists are exclusively evocationists. Heirophant Heirophants are the wardens of the gods, surpassing simple worship and preaching and doing their direct will. In order to do this, the gods grant heirophants even greater power than that of a normal cleric. Those of high enough rank even achieve immortality. Shapeshifter A shapeshifter is one who has made their physical form malleable enough to change it drastically at will, such as a changeling or doppleganger, or someone who has gone through something that allows them to do so, such as a cursed object or failed spell, or even lycanthropy in some rare cases unlocking the ability to transform into various animals rather than a singular one. Note that this is a true altering of self in the class, rather than the simple surface change druids and other magic spells provide. Sword Master A sword master is one that strives for complete mastery over bladed weapons, developing skill, finesse, and elegance over bashing someone reapeatedly until they stop moving. Most see it as a beautiful art form and as such are professional duelists or exhibitionists in an arena or for show, rather than for practical use, though a true sword master is more than adept at combat, provided they're armed. Weapon Master Weapon masters are the best when it comes to physical combat. Agile, powerful, and definitely skilled, they can use nearly anything as a weapon to inflict serious damage. This take a lot of training to learn though, so few pursue this class.